Workout of the week: Spontaneous Yoga

Instructor: Ashley Quinn, of Boulder, a registered hospice nurse, certified yoga instructor, and a student at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration.

Quinn was certified in India in Ashtanga yoga, but that is not at all what she teaches or practices any more. About 31/2 years ago, her friend introduced her to what she now calls "Spontaneous Yoga," and she has been doing it since.

"It spoke to me on a very fundamental level, in that this is the way that my body wanted to move," Quinn says. "It was literally love at first practice."

Quinn has been teaching for about 2 years.

She says Spontaneous Yoga provides her a feeling of freedom and spaciousness.

"And the more that you practice moving in ways that are whole, complete and non-fragmented, the more it becomes second nature, and the more you can have that freedom and those choices in everyday life," she says.

What is the workout? A free-flowing, gentle, "intuitive" style of yoga done in the tradition of Vanda Scaravelli, author of "Awakening the Spine." This type of yoga allows you to access the innate intelligence of the body so the body can move itself, Quinn says.

It combines myofascial structural bodywork, working with the connective tissue of the body, and movement education. Classes are designed to bring balance and ease to your body structure, teach a more integrated way of moving, and enhance awareness of your body's innate support.

"It's about finding freedom in the spine, in the body, in the way of movement," Quinn says. "When you change the way that you move, you change your life. The body-mind connection is so important and so innate, yet in many of us, it's so separate."

When you learn how to move in holistic ways, you rewire the body-mind connection, she says.

The premise echoes other techniques, such as Feldenkrais and rolfing: The more your movement originates from the spine and uses the whole body, the more you can free areas of tension and pain. Many areas of chronic tension come from the way that we move, whether fragmentary movements or habitual patterns. When you learn to move with greater freedom, you can eliminate those areas of tension.

"Be really curious, and have a beginner's mind. Really pay attention, and that sense begins to come," Quinn says.

Ashley calls it "spontaneous" because by allowing your body to move in a way that contains the most freedom, the postures just happen when your body is ready, not because you make a conscious choice to move into them.

What's different: There is no ideal position or end goal.

"The first step is the last step," Quinn says. "It's about allowing the movement to arise in you, rather than you have an idea of where you want to go, and you are putting yourself into that framework."

Here, you still have the idea of the asana, but you allow it to unfold itself.

For example, we did a downward dog on our elbows and forearms. The first thing I did was start to think about where my body "should" be and how it should look, based on previous yoga classes I'd taken. But instead, Quinn told me pay attention to and notice the lateral side of my body, and that awareness is what aligned my body -- from the inside-out, instead of from the outside-in. It was a completely different mentality and way of approaching yoga.

"It's about allowing verses telling. We get very different results from ourselves and other people when we say 'Do this' or 'Notice this," Quinn says.

This style of yoga is billed as "stress free," and I found that true. It removes the competitive energy that's prevalent in many yoga studios throughout Boulder, because there is no ideal position.

"All types of yoga are wonderful and effective. I practice this kind because it's how my body wants to move. It feels incredible. There's no pressure. And the results are a body that feels free and loose and has choices," Quinn says.

She never teaches or practices with a lesson plan in mind.

What does it cost? One-on-one sessions cost $65 for an hour. Small groups of two to four people start at $50 for the full group.

When: Contact her to set up the time. Sessions generally last from 75-90 minutes, but the length depends on what the student needs, combining hand's-on manual therapy with personalized movement education to address your specific areas of concern. She offers private and small group sessions.

My lesson was short, less than an hour.

Level:Every level and everyone who wants to find more freedom in movement.

"People who have less yoga experience tend to connect with it a little easier because there's less to un-learn," Quinn says.

But everyone can benefit from learning how to move in more holistic ways, she says.

The level of difficulty is whatever level you need and wherever you are that day.

"Even the most challenging poses that I do, I'm not stressing myself, because that's not the way I want to move," Quinn says. "Sometimes I do 'easy' poses and sometimes I do 'hard' poses, but they all feel the same."

What to prepare:Bring your own mat for group classes. She has one mat for privates. Wear regular yoga clothes and bring water.

Muscles worked: In this class, you ask the big muscles to get out of the way, and you work on the core, intrinsic, support muscles deep inside the spine. The class also encourages the gentle and slow movement of fascia, the connective tissue in the body.

"Through habits, posture, injuries and ways we carry ourselves, the fascia tends to get sticky and constrict," Quinn says.

Working on your fascia is how you create lasting changes.

What I loved: One of Quinn's favorite sayings from her teacher, Diane Long, is, "If what you're doing is not indescribably beautiful, stop."

"I find that is a great thing to remember in whatever I am doing -- not just on the mat," Quinn says. "And that's the way it can be."

I enjoyed the feeling of sitting across from Quinn, looking out the window into a spacious common area, and simply moving and feeling my body. It was nice to unplug and relax in the middle of a work day, and I don't think I've ever had a private yoga lesson before, so the personal attention was pretty special.

What I didn't like:The class I took was in her home, which may put some people off. There was no music and not much talking, so I could hear lunch being cooked in the next room. There was something personal and sweet about this, yet I felt a little out of place, like I was invading personal space. I always feel a little uncomfortable in in-home studios and offices, but I know other people prefer them; it's all a personal preference. A class like this does lend itself to a more intimate home setting, and it might seem forced in a separate, professional setting. But still.

How I felt after the class: By the time I left, my tense shoulders and back felt relaxed, and I felt grounded.

-- Reported by Aimee Heckel.

Know of any interesting workouts? Tell us about them so we can check them out: heckela@dailycamera.com or 303-473-1359.

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